This invention relates generally to multimedia networks and processing systems, and more particularly to the manipulation of audio/visual objects delivered by such multimedia networks and processing systems.
The user of an interactive multimedia system, whether a viewer of a movie or video or a listener of music, is presented with more and more audio/visual choices. These audio/visual choices can take the form of commercials, musical selections heard within movies, music video, movie trailers, movies, etc. With the rise of electronic commerce and the development of broadcast and satellite television programming that targets users having certain interests, there is a great opportunity for the content provider of such audio/visual programs to sell their programming to a highly motivated recipient. What is needed in the art, then, is the ability for a user of the interactive multimedia system to be able to readily purchase, or view for possible purchase, one or more of the audio/visual choices. In order to encourage the sale of audio/visual programs, it would be especially advantageous for the selection of desired audio/visual choices to be quick, easy, and as close in time to the actual viewing or listening of the audio/visual program as possible.
Certain embodiments of the invention enable a user of an interactive multimedia system, when presented with myriad audio/visual programming, to quickly, easily, and readily choose one or more of the audio/visual programs for viewing and possible purchase.
Therefore, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention, a method and system provides for the capture and storage of audio/visual objects of interest, which can be retrieved and perused at some future time by the user of the system. An interactive multimedia system has an interactive control element that controls the receipt, play and storage of audio/visual information (objects); a content provider operable to send a plurality of audio/visual objects to the interactive control element; a selection mechanism coupled to the interactive control element and under the control of the user of the interactive multimedia system; a temporary storage element that is controlled by the interactive control element to store each audio/visual object as it is played; and a long-term storage element.
The interactive control element of the interactive multimedia system receives a plurality of audio/visual objects for play from the content provider and causes each such object to be stored to a temporary storage element as it is played. In response to the user activating the selection mechanism of the interactive multimedia system, it is determined whether the interactive control element has completed storing an audio/visual object to the temporary storage element that the user has selected via the selection mechanism. If the interactive control element has completed storing the selected audio/visual object to the temporary storage element, the selected audio/visual object is transferred from the temporary storage element to a long-term storage element. If, however, the interactive control element has not completed storing the selected audio/visual object to the temporary storage element, it is determined whether selected audio/visual object to currently being played. If it is not currently being played, this means that the selected object may not be available locally and the interactive control element retrieves the selected audio/visual object from the content provider (if necessary) and stores it in the long-term storage element. If the selected audio/visual object is being currently played, then the interactive control element continues to store the selected audio/visual object within the temporary storage element until the selected audio/visual object is stored in its entirety (has finished playing) and then transfers it from the temporary storage element to the long-term storage element, where it can be retrieved at some later time when desired.
The above summaries are intended to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, which will be best understood in conjunction with the detailed description to follow, and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.